Water-meter



(No Model.)

F. W. HOOD. WATEE METEE.

No. 585,757. Patented July 6, 1897.

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iliyrrn Smarts artnr Prion,

FREEMAN W'. IIOOD, OF NEWTON, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOR TO THE IIER- SEY MANUFACTURING COMPANY, OF BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS.

VVi-i'l'ERl Ni ETER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 585,757, dated July 6, 1897.

t Application led February 18, 1896. Serial N0. 579,764. (No model.)

To all whom t may concern.' Referring more particularly to the draw- Be it known that I, FREEMAN W. HOOD, a ings, it may be stated that as the general concitizen of the United States, residing at Newstruction and operation of current-meters are ton, in the county of Middlesex and State of well understood I do not deem it necessary 5 Massachusetts,have invented certain new and to fully and particularly describe all the deuseful Improvements in Water-Meters, of tails thereof, but will point out more espe- Which the following is a specification. cially the novel features of construction em- My invention relates to rotary-current mebodying my invention. ters, and has for its object generally to im- Vithin any suitable case is arranged an an- 6o lo prove and simplify the construction of such nular wheel l, provided with a series of buckmeters with the view of increasing their senets la, the buckets being curved in plan, as sibility, evenness of registration, and duraseen in Fig. 1, and straight vertically, as seen bility; and to these ends my invention con-4 in Fig. 2. Arranged in connection with this sists in the various features substantially as wheel are the directing-vanes 2, and these are [5 hereinafter more particularly pointed out. likewise curved in plan and straight in ver- In the accompanying drawings I have illustical section, they being curved in a direction trated one preferred embodiment of my inopposite to the curves of the buckets in the vention, in whichh Wheel 1. These vanes are stationary and are Figure l is a horizontal transverse section for the purpose of directing the water into 7o zo on the line w x, Fig. 2; and Fig. 2 is a vertithe buckets. Arranged outside of the wheel cal longitudinal section on the line y e, Fig. 1. is a series ofreceiving-vanes 3, and these are In order to accomplish the generally-stated straight, both in plan-and vertical section, objects of my invention, I provide a construcand receive the jet or discharge of water from tion by which the Wheel is balanced against the buckets of the wheel.

z 5 both vertical and horizontal thrusts, result- I may say here that While I have shown the ing in a most perfect balance and consequent directing-vanes as curved and the receivingsensibility, durability, &c. Further, I provanes as straight and the buckets as curved, vide a construction in which the impact of the and while this is the preferred form, it is not water is distributed with equal force against absolutely important in order to attain the 8o 3o oppositesides of the wheel, and such impulses advantages of my invention to a greater or occur at the same time on opposite sides, and less extent that they should be so arranged, at the same time the wheel is subjected to a as under some conditions they may be all series of maximum impulses and minimum straight or all curved, or one or more straight impulses, succeeding one another and meror curved and the others curved or straight. 35 ging into each other in such a way as to con- The wheel 1 is carried in the present institute a practically continuous impulse of stance on astep 8 and is steadied by the bearuniform force, and this conduces to sensiing 9, and the rotations of the wheel are combility,durability,evenness of registration, &c. municated to an intermediate gearing l0 and In accomplishing these purposes I provide a by this through a stuffing-box `11 to a dial or 9o 4o construction which, among other things, inother indicating device (not shown) in the sures the passage of the water through the 'usual manner. wheel in a horizontal direction. I also pro- Such being the general construction and vide a construction in which the directing arrangement of the device the operation will and receiving vanes and the buckets in the be readily understood, and it will be seen 4 5 wheel vary in number in certain relations, that water enters at the inlet 4, following the whereby the impact of the water, both in its course indicated by the arrows. It passes delivery to the buckets and from the buckets, up into adistributing-chamber 5 within the shall be distributed equally on all sides, and directing-vanes, and from thence passes horif so that the wheel will be subjected to a series zontally through the directing-Vance 2, imloo 5o of maximum and minimum impulses at difpinging substantially at right angles against ferent parts at all times. the buckets la of the wheel, and from the wheel it is delivered substantially at right angles against the receiving -vanes 3 and passes through the recesses between these vanes and is discharged vertically into a receiving-chamber 6, and from thence down and out of the meter through the outlet 7. The result of this construction and arrangement is that the wheel is perfectly balanced in a vertical direction, because there is no impinging of the Water in a vertical direction against the wheel or against any portion of it. Further, the current of the Water through the wheel is entirely in a horizontal direction, and this insures the permanency of the bearings which take up the weight and thrust. Further, the wheel is balanced in a horizontal direction on account of the relative arrangement of the directing and receiving vanes and the buckets, and it will be seen that in the present instance I have shown eighteen directing-vanes and eighteen receiving-vanes and twenty-four buckets, although, of course, I am not limited to this particular number and relative arrangement. I find, however, it is desirable that the numbers of the buckets and vanes should be divisible by the same prime numbers, as by two and by three, and

' that one should not be a multiple of the other.

The effect of this arrangement is to distribute the impact of the water as delivered by the directing-vanes with equal force against the opposite sides of the wheel. For instance, on reference to the drawings it will be seen that practically a full jet of water is being deli vered against the bucket at l2 and at the diametrically opposite side of the wheel against the bucket at 13, and these two buckets are in full operation, and that the relation of these directing-vanes and buckets is identical. Precisely the same relation exists between the buckets at 14 and l5 and their respective receiving-vanes on opposite sides of the wheel against which they are discharging. If any part of the wheel is examined with reference to the directing and receiving vanes, precisely the same relations will be found on the diametrically opposite sides. This feature insures the permanency of the bearings in a horizontal direction and the general durability of the meter.

While it is true that this feature of balancing the piston in a horizontal direction could be obtained in a structure where the directing and receiving vanes and the buckets are of the same number, or one the multiple of the other, by arranging them as above described, I not only obtain the results above set forth, but, further, obtain great sensibility and evenness of registration by preferably the vanes and buckets were of the same num-v ber or one the multiple of the other the wheel would be subjected to a series of maxi.

mum and minimum impulses, which would result in uneven operation, whereas by makving them uneven in number, as just described, a certain number of buckets are eX- posed to the maximum impulses and a certain number to the minimum impulses and others to intermediate impulses at one time, these impulses succeeding one another and merging into each other in such a way as to be a practically continuous impulse of uniform force,resulting in great erenness of rotation of the wheel, and consequently of registration and operation of the meter.

Having thus described my invention, what I desire to secure by Letters Patent is- I. In a rotary-current water-meter the combination of a horizontal annular wheel provided with buckets, an annular series of directing-vanes and an annular series of receiving-vanes, the wheel being disposed between said vanes in such a manner that the water passes through said wheel in a horizontal direction without impinging against it in such a way as to produce thrust in a vertical direction, substantially as described.

2. In a rotary-current water-m eter the combination with an annular wheel provided with buckets, of an annular series of directingvanes and an annular series of receivingvanes, the said annular directing-vanes and receiving-vanes being so related to the buckets of said wheel numerically that the impulses on opposite sides of the wheel shall. occur at the same time so as not to produce horizontal thrust, substantially as described.

3. In a rotary-current water-meter the combination with an annular wheel provided with buckets, of an annular series of directingvanes and an annular series of receivingvanes, the said annular directing-vanes and receivingfvanes being so related to the buckets of said wheel numerically that the wheel will be subjected to a series of maximum and minimum impulses at different parts of the wheel, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

FREEMAN IV. HOOD.

IVitnesses:

LEwIs E. Hoon, RoB'r. J. Born.

IOO

IIO 

